Starting issues
Discussion
I'm having issues getting my 1991 VW passat 1.8 petrol started.
Its had an electrical problem for quite a while, I think theres a short somewhere (more on that in a sec) but it usually took a few days for the battery to go flat enough to require a jump start which meant its not been too much of a problem, (its due an MOT and service in the next few weeks anyway - i just want to get as much sorted as i can myself)
However, today when I tried to jump start it (from a healthy battery) it wouldnt start. It made a lot of clicking (maybe from the injectors????/spark plugs????, not sure as it was difficult to pinpoint the noise (also dark by this time as well)) noises and every so often the starter motor would turn the engine over a bit but not enough to start it.
Any ideas on why this would be or what the cause would be. Surely the jump start would rule out the flat battery as being the only problem?
Now a bit on the electrical issue..
I've been looking at trying to find out why the battery is going flat and found the radio fuse had blown (clearly some time back). Followng the haynes manual instructions i put a voltmeter across that fuse socket and it read 8V or so, which is the current state of charge of the flat battery. Does this indicate a short circuit here?
Another test i did ..i disconnected the negative battery lead and placed one ond of a jump lead on the -ve battery terminal and touched the chassis with the other end.. this produced sparking between the lead and the chassis.. does that indicate a poor earth/short somewhere? im not great on electrics and made that test up but to me it shouldn't do that if the ignition is off as it was (key in my pocket at the time)
Any help on this greatly appreciated.
I did do a search before hand but it seemed to just take me to the TVR part of the forum.
Its had an electrical problem for quite a while, I think theres a short somewhere (more on that in a sec) but it usually took a few days for the battery to go flat enough to require a jump start which meant its not been too much of a problem, (its due an MOT and service in the next few weeks anyway - i just want to get as much sorted as i can myself)
However, today when I tried to jump start it (from a healthy battery) it wouldnt start. It made a lot of clicking (maybe from the injectors????/spark plugs????, not sure as it was difficult to pinpoint the noise (also dark by this time as well)) noises and every so often the starter motor would turn the engine over a bit but not enough to start it.
Any ideas on why this would be or what the cause would be. Surely the jump start would rule out the flat battery as being the only problem?
Now a bit on the electrical issue..
I've been looking at trying to find out why the battery is going flat and found the radio fuse had blown (clearly some time back). Followng the haynes manual instructions i put a voltmeter across that fuse socket and it read 8V or so, which is the current state of charge of the flat battery. Does this indicate a short circuit here?
Another test i did ..i disconnected the negative battery lead and placed one ond of a jump lead on the -ve battery terminal and touched the chassis with the other end.. this produced sparking between the lead and the chassis.. does that indicate a poor earth/short somewhere? im not great on electrics and made that test up but to me it shouldn't do that if the ignition is off as it was (key in my pocket at the time)
Any help on this greatly appreciated.
I did do a search before hand but it seemed to just take me to the TVR part of the forum.
The reasons for a discharge are many and varied but in general you will need to systematically test for these. Earlier today on the PH Landrover forum someone posted a PDF doc on how to do this so that would be a good start.
In terms of your starting issues it may be that your battery is now so heavily discharged it is pulling the slave down with it. To get running try disconnecting your battery completely to just run straight from the slave.
Steve
In terms of your starting issues it may be that your battery is now so heavily discharged it is pulling the slave down with it. To get running try disconnecting your battery completely to just run straight from the slave.
Steve
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